Persona 3: Afterlife
by SnowBeast
Summary: Hikari Haruno and Junpei Iori swore to be best friends forever. But what happens when He breaks her heart and abandons her. And what happens when they met you some years down the road? Frist fan-fic! Please R&R and no flames
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Love

Hikari Haruno and Junpei Iori have been friends ever since he saved her from a bunch of bullies. That was 15 years ago. Back then Hikari had the biggest crush on him, but never said anything fearing that it would ruin their friendship. However, in the 5th grade, a girl named Tari came into the picture and soon began going with Junpei. When Hikari found out, she was heartbroken, but decided that if Tari made Junpei happy, she was happy. Hikari tried to become friends with the girl but she resounded very rudely and thought that she might be treating Junpei the same way. She told Junpei about it, but he didn't believe her, which caused her to get angry with him and from that point on, they weren't friends anymore, which is what Tari wanted. In the 10th grade Hikari met a girl named Maiko, who was kind of tom-boyish and Junpei met Daisuke, who is a little perverted. Who would have thought they'd be in the same class.

It's not until Junpei and Hikari get partnered together that they begin to discover how they really feel about one another.

**Chapter One: An Unexpected Love**

"Junpei, we need to work on the project, so come over to my house so we can start it." Hikari told him during class.

Tari walks over and wrapped her arms around him. Hikari walks off, not saying anything to her and joins Maiko and Daisuke at their table.

After school, Hikari walks out the building and waits for Junpei by the entrance with Maiko. Hikari turns around to see Junpei and Tari walking down the hall holding hands.

"Doesn't it just make you sick?" Maiko asked her.

"...I guess." Hikari responded. Maiko sensed the sadness in her voice.

"You okay, Kari?" Maiko asked concerned.

Hikari looked at her with an expression on her face that Maiko couldn't read. It was mix between sadness and anger but, it also had a hint of guilt.

"I'm fine...I'm just a little tired." she told her.

Maiko wasn't buying it. She knew better then that but, decided not to push the issue.

"Alright. I'm gonna head on home; Daisuke and I got a lot of work to do. I'll get you later."

"Bye..." Hikari said keeping her eyes on Junpei.

Maiko walked off just as Junpei and Tari got to the door.

"Bye Tari," Junpei kisses her.

"Bye Junpei," Maiko kisses him back.

Hikari rolls her eyes as she waits for them to finish saying their goodbyes.

Junpei waves bye to Tari and walks over to Hikari. "Okay, let's go..."

"Okay..."

Later at Hikari's house

"Okay, I thought that we could do our project the ancient gods of mythology."

"The what of what now?" Junpei asked.

Hikari rolls her eyes.

"Hey, are you hungry?" she asked him.

"I could use something to eat."

So they go into the kitchen and Junpei sees the note that her mom left her saying that everybody went to go shopping for groceries.

She made Ramen for both of them because she remembered that Junpei likes ramen.

_Flashback_

"_Ah! Get away" screams Hikari._

"_Not until you give us your lunch money," says a bunch of bullies._

_Hikari runs but trips on a tree's roots. They run up to her and try to punch her but someone says, "Hey pick on someone your own size." They look at someone behind Hikari and they see that it's Junpei and runs away._

"_Umm... are you okay?" he looks down at Hikari. She nods, but then Junpei sees her knee is bleeding so he puts a band-aid on it. Hikari blushes and says, "Thanks... umm what's your name?"_

"_Junpei"_

"_Oh I'm Hikari"_

_He helps her up. "Thank you..." her face turns redder. He then blushes. _

_"You're welcome, hey do you like Ramen?"_

_"Yeah, do you?" Hikari asked, thinking of how random the question was._

_"Yeah, I eat it every day. Want to share some?"_

_"Okay..." Hikari said smiling up at him._

END OF FLASHBACK

Hikari smiles as she eats her ramen.

BOOM!! It began to rain.

Hikari screams and the lights turn off and on.

"Damn, the lights turned off and it's starting to rain hard!" Junpei says as he looks out the window.

He looks over at Hikari and she is shaking like she is terrified. He stands her up and holds her in his arms. Hikari's face turns red, but she is still shaking. They stay like that for a few minutes until Hikari looks up at him then pulls away. Then the phone rings. It's Hikari's mom she tells Hikari that they couldn't drive through the rain so she bought a hotel room and tells Hikari that she's already talked to Junpei's family and he could stay for the night.

"Mom..."

"Oh, got to go sweetie, be good."

Hikari hangs up the phone and goes back over to Junpei what her mom just told her. His mouth drops wide open.

"Are you serious?!"

She nods. He sighs and asks her if she has any clothes he could change into. She walks up to her mother's room with him following behind. She gets a white shirt and a stripped pant which used to belong to her father she turns around and gives them to him.

He goes into the bathroom and takes a bath then when he's finished he remembered that forgot to ask for a towel. "DAMNIT, DAMNIT HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN?!" he says to himself.

"Umm... Hikari?" he says.

"Yeah?" she says while she waits for him to get out of the bathroom.

"Can... I... um... have a towel?" he says with his face red.

Her face turns red and she gets a towel and knocks on the door. He sticks out his hand and takes the towel. She runs into her room with her face still red.

"OH, MY GOSH! Well at least I didn't see anything and he didn't see me in only a robe," she says in her head.

He comes out with the white shirt and stripped pants, his face still a little red. He goes in Hikari's room to give her the towel and sees that she is in only a robe. She turns around and her face turns red.

"AH! GET OUT, OUT, OUT!" she screamed throwing one of her house shoes at the door.

"SORRY, SORRY!" he says as he runs out.

She closes the door and leans against it.

"Of course that had to happen!" she says as she gets ready to run into the bathroom. She runs in without him seeing her. She takes a bath and gets her towel and dries herself quick and runs into her room. After she put on some clothes on she walked downstairs with her face a little red. She was wearing an oversized button-up shirt, short-shorts, and socks.

"I'm sorry"

"...it's okay..."

There was a long silence until Hikari said that she'd get him a pillow and a blanket. She went upstairs and got them for him. She walked over to him and put a pillow under his head leaning over him.

BOOM!!

"AH!" she screamed as she jumped onto his chest shaking.

He looked at her for a second and held her. She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, I had a bad ex-"

He interrupted her with a kiss. Her eyes widened and then closed. _"Junpei,"_ she said in her mind. Then her arms slowly wrapped around his neck. He pulled back to let her breathe.

"I like you too."

Her eyes widened and she pushed him away.

"No... this... this, it's all wrong!" she said starting to cry. He then held her close to him, but she kept on trying to make him let go, but he didn't let her go.

BOOM!!

"AH!" she screamed and held him tightly. He then leaned over and kissed her. She then turned her head and she let go of him, but he was still holding her.

"Let go of me," she whispered.

"No," he whispered back.

"Why?"

"Because, I like you."

"But Tari..."

"No... Hikari."

"...but..."

He kissed her to make her be quiet.

"I told you only you. Ever since pre-school I've liked you. You do remember how you and I met each other, don't you?" She nods.

"Well that day all I just wanted was you to be okay and safe then Tari came into the picture."

"She was so mean to me and you just didn't believe me."

"Yes I know and I am sorry for that. Will you forgive me?"

"I don't-"

"If you don't, I won't let you go," he said smiling.

She smiled and said, "Then I really, really don't forgive you."

"Oh... then I'll hold you tighter," he said playfully.

He then looked down at her while she was looking up then kissed for the longest he could, but she pulled away for air.

"I don't like you..." he said. She pulled away from him and was about to slap him, but then he said, "I love you." Her eyes widened and she started to cry. He held her close to him until she fell asleep. When she fell asleep he picked her up bridal style and put her on her bed and kissed her forehead.

Soon after this, Junpei broke up with Tari but, it wasn't pretty. Tari went into a kind of jealous rage and decided to do whatever it took to get Junpei back.


	2. Chapter 2: Payback

**OMG! I forgot the diclaimer!! I don't own Persona 3! If I did I wouldn't be writting fan-fics ! :)**

**Chapter 2: Payback**

During class, Junpei and Hikari were sitting together, talking about their project. They were laughing for the first time in years. Tari however was not so thrilled to see the boy she had worked so hard to get talking to the person she hated the most. So, she came up with a plan to separate them once and for all.

"Michiro! I have something to tell you," says Tari as she runs to him.

"What?" he says.

"You know Hikari, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you like her?"

His face turns red and he looks down then nods.

"Well we're best friends and she told me that she's only dating Junpei to make you jealous.

"Really!"

"Yup and she wants you to ask her out and if she says no kiss her because she's just giving you a test to see if you really like her or not."

"Oh, and just remember to not use my name."

His face is red and he nods.

Third period

"Yuka, pass this to Hikari," says Eri passing Yuka a note slyly. She passes it to Hikari and she reads it under her desk: '_Hikari, meet me outside near the water fountain before lunch -Michiro.'_

Before lunch, Hikari goes outside to the water fountain, and sees Michiro.

"Hey Michiro." she says.

His face turns red and he says, "Hey, Hikari."

"Umm... so what did you need me-"

"Go out with me!"

"Michiro, you know that I'm dating Jun-"

Before she could say anything else, he grabs her by the wait and kisses her. She struggles to pull away, but his arms were tightly around her. Just then Junpei and Tari walk outside to see Michiro and Hikari kissing. Tari stands behind Junpei and takes a picture with her phone without anyone seeing her.

"MICHIRO, YOU BASTARD!" he yells.

Michiro stops kissing Hikari, but still is holding onto her.

"Junpei, I'm sorry that you had to find out like this, but Hikari and I are going out now."

Her eyes widen just as he said that and she still struggles to pull away, but he doesn't let go because he didn't even notice her struggling.

"Let go..." Junpei whispers with his head to the ground and his hand clenched in a fist.

"Huh?" Michiro asked.

"I SAID LET GO!" he yells as he runs and punches Michiro in the face and holds Hikari in his arms.

"IF YOU EVER TOUCH HIKARI AGAIN I'LL DO MORE THAN PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE." he holds Hikari with one arm and walks inside to the lunchroom.

"Junpei..." she says looking up at him.

He says nothing.

"I'm-"

"Don't even say it," he says.

Her eyes widen.

"It's not your fault."

"...but..."

He takes her by the shoulders.

"HIKARI, I LOVE YOU AND I KNOW THAT NOTHING IS GOING TO COME BETWEEN US!"

Her eyes fill with tears. She smiles and says, "I love you too." He hugs her so tightly that she almost couldn't breathe.

Tari comes up with many plans to separate the two of them, only for them to forgive each other time and time again...that is until Hikari and Michiro get assigned a project together.


	3. Chapter 3: Lost Connection

**Chapter Three: Lost Connection**

After school Hikari and Michiro went to a café to finish the project quickly. When they were there, Hikari barely spoke unless it was necessary.

With Tari and Junpei

He sighed as he walked out of school with Tari following. Tari started crying, which Junpei believed. "What's wrong Tari?" he asked concerned.

She shows Junpei the picture she took of Michiro and Hikari kissing. Junpei looked at it in horror and pulled Tari with him to where Hikari and Michiro were. Tari sent a text to Michiro.

With Michiro and Hikari

Michiro got the text and nodded. He got up from his seat and kissed Hikari so Hikari's head was facing away from the window where Junpei and Tari were watching. Junpei didn't know what to do, but he hugged Tari and thanked her for telling him. After Michiro pulled away, Hikari was about to slap him, but he caught her hand and pointed toward the window and when she turned around, she saw Junpei hugging Tari.

She ran out the store and tapped Junpei from behind. He looked back at her with no emotion.

"What?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT YOU'RE HUGGING TARI WHILE YOU'RE GOING OUT WITH ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Not anymore..."

"Wha- what?"

"You heard me we're not going out anymore."

"Wh- Why?"

"Go ask you're other- I mean only boyfriend over there."

"But..."

"BUT NOTHING, I SAW YOU KISSING HIM!"

"Junpei I..."

"YOU WHAT! YOU'RE SORRY!? WELL SO AM I! I'M SORRY THAT I EVER WENT OUT WITH YOU!"

"You can't be serious..."

"Well I am..."

"But Junpei, I love you!"

"Then why were you kissing Michiro!"

"He ki-"

"Shut up!"

"But Junpei..."

"You really get on my nerves you really do!"

"YOU DON'T EVEN LISTEN TO ME AFTER I FORGVE YOU ALL THOSE TIMES!"

"I ONLY MESSED UP ONCE! WHAT ABOUT YOU HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU MESSED UP OR BETRAYED ME!"

"NEVER!"

"YEAH, RIGHT!" She then slapped him.

"Why are you doing this?!"

"WELL, WHY DID YOU KISS HIM?"

"HE FREAKING KISSED ME!!"

"THEN HOW COME IT LASTED SO LONG?!"

"Because..."

"Because you wanted him to kiss you!"

"No I didn't."

"Whatever."

"Junpei..."

"Get away from me."

"No I love you!"

"I hate you..."

It was like her heart shattered into a million pieces. Then he kissed Tari. She knew that was when her heart really shattered into a million pieces. She couldn't do anything, but just stand there like an idiot staring.

"Me and Tari are going out now."

Tears poured down her cheeks. She felt like her world came crashing down. They left leaving Hikari standing in the same spot crying, not even wiping the tears from her face. Then Michiro came out and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It will be okay."

"It's all you fault..."

"What?"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT AND NOW JUNPEI HATES ME! GET OUT OF MY LIFE ...FOREVER!" she screamed as she ran to her house.

"Hikari wait!" he called, but she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4: Reunited

**Chapter Four: Reunited**

It's been two years since that day and she hasn't seen Junpei since, and now Hikari was in her senior year of high school. Her family had moved to Iwatodoi and she had transferred to Gekkokan High. She was getting her new uniforms ready for the next day when her mom came in her room.

"Hikari, do you have everything you need...?" Her mom asked

"Yeah...everything but him..." she said quietly to herself.

"Okay. And try to wake up on time this year."

Her mom leaves the room, cracking her door shut. Hikari sat on the edge of her bed. She missed him and she still had strong feelings for him, but for her sake she knew she had to get over him somehow...even though she didn't want to. "I hate you" Those words haunted her everyday and she can't believe how stupid she had acted over him, getting into fights over him.

"Guess there's no helping it..." she said as she got up to put her books in her backpack.

The next day

Hikari was running late as she had done so many times before. She ran down the side walk and though the front gates of the school when she ran into someone.

"Sorry, I wasn't loo-" she stopped when she realized who she ran into and frowned. It was Junpei.

"Hi-Hikari? Is that you? Wow, It's been a-" she walks off, not answering him.

"What's her problem?" he said to himself as he walks into the school building.

Hikari had been going to that school for some time and this was first she saw of him. She went though her classes wondering what she was going to do now. She wasn't expecting to ever see him again, but she wondered how such a good friendship went so bad. However, she began not to care, she remembered how he had treated her the last time they saw each other and that made her come to the point of hating him.

After school

Hikari was on the kendo team and had to practice late. Kaz offered to walk her home but she said she was fine and left. Instead of going start home, she stopped by the mall and completely lost track of time.

"Damn! It's almost mid-night!" she said as she ran as fast as she could home.

Then, the sky went green and so did the moon. The puddles of water that was on the street suddenly changed to blood.

"What the-"

She stops running and looks around. Where people once were, now stood coffins. She heard a noise coming from behind her and continued running, completely freaked out with her entire experience. Not paying attention to where she was running, she ended up in a alley way. She felt as if someone or something was watching her. She turned around and didn't see anything.

"I'm losing it." she thought to herself.

She walks towards the entrance of the alley and looked up to see something falling, fast. She stepped back just in time as it hit the ground. It looked like a kind of staff with a crescent moon on the end and a type of crystal in the middle. She had an urge to touch it then stopped herself.

"Oh no, I've seen this kind of stuff on TV...nice try."

She walks around it and doesn't make it too far till she was face to face with a Minotaur. Its eyes were blood shot red and it was eyeing her. All she could do was stare, she was paralyzed with fear. It moved its face closer to hers and opened its mouth, revealing sharp, blood covered teeth. Just as it was about to swing at her, she back-fliped out the way. The Minotaur's fist hit the ground, leaving a hole that she could've been in.

"What the hell is that thing...?" she steps back and steps on the staff. She looks at it and then back at the Minotaur. "Alright!"

She kicks up the staff into her hands and points it at the Minotaur.

"I guess running's out of the question with those legs of yours...Fine...You wanna play!"

The Minotaur rushed towards her at full speed and she stood her ground. Then she heard footsteps coming towards her from down the side walk.

"There are more of them!? This could turn out bad..."

The Minotaur swung. She ducks and stabs it in the chest with the staff. Blood went everywhere as it let out a sharp cry of pain and fall backwards to the ground. Hikari stands up, covered in blood. She looks down the side walk and sees a group of kids around her age standing there and among them was Junpei.

"Hikari." Junpei whispered as he and Hikari stared at each other.

She gave him a cold stare that everyone could feel. Then Mitsuru steps forward. Hikari takes defensive stances which stops Mitsuru in her tracks, so Akihiko approaches her.

"You took out that thing on your own?" he said watching her closely for any sudden movements but, noticed she was more focused on Junpei then what he had to say.

"What was that thing...and what's going on?" she said as she lowers the staff and turns her attention to Akihiko.

"It's not safe out here. Let's get you cleaned up back at our dorm and we'll explain everything there." said Fuuka.

Hikari stood there for a moment before agreeing to the offer with a nod.

Back at the dorm

Fuuka gave Hikari a pair of her clothing after she got out of the bath. Then they all met in the command room. She walks pass Junpei without noticing him and sat next to Aigis. There, Akihiko and Mitsuru explain about the dark hour and the shadows.

"Are you serious? But this hasn't happened where I lived a while ago..." Hikari said confused.

"It recently started back, we thought we put an end to it, but this tells us otherwise." Mitsuru explained.

"I see." said Hikari as looked all of them.

She glanced over at Junpei who was looking at her with a sad expression on his face. She paid no attention to it.

"Well, do you guys need some help?"

"You wanna join?" asked Yukari.

"Yeah, I wanna do what I can to help and I just can't let this...power go to waste."

"If you're really o.k. with it...you can move into the dorm as soon as possible." Akihiko said.

"That's fine with me." Hikari said as she stood up.

"Alright, we'll get you an Evoker ready."

"Thanks."

She walks to the door, and then Junpei stands up.

"Hikari, wait!" Junpei shouted as Hikari was about to turn the door knob.

"...Can you walk me home...Akihiko-san?" Hikari asked pretending not to hear Junpei.

"Um, sure." he says as he walks over to her, opens the door and they leave.

Junpei stood there for a while before sitting back down and sighed.

The next day

Hikari was walking up to the school building. She was early, so she decided to hang out around the front gate before the first bell. She sat on a nearby bench and pulled out one of her text books. Soon, Junpei came walking up to her. She looked different from the last time he saw her two years ago. Her hair was longer and she was skinnier. She now had blonde high lights though her hair, but she was still shorter than him. He laughed which caused Hikari to look up a see him. They stared at one another for a few moments before Junpei broke the silence.

"Uh...hey, Hikari." he said nervously as he watched her facial expression.

Hikari didn't say anything. She just looked at him as if she were looking at her worst enemy and in this case he was. She put her book in her bag and stood up, turning away from him and began to walk off.

"Hikari, wait!" he shouted and she stopped walking, still not facing him.

"What is it...Junpei?"

He could detect some hostility in her voice as she spoke to him.

"Why aren't you talking to me? You completely ignored me yesterday...what's going on?"

Hikari turned around to face him.

"You hate me, remember? When I wanted to talk, you never answered my calls; you never acknowledged my presence the 11th grade year of school! And we were in the same class and-" she stopped.

She noticed she was raising her voice and she felt like she was about to cry. But she refused. She refused to cry over him again.

Junpei noticed it too. He stood there, not knowing what to say to her.

"Hikari...I-"he started but Hikari shook her head.

"Please...don't Iori...I really don't wanna hear it..."

"Iori...?"Junpei said to himself, shocked. "You never called me by my last name..."

"Well, guess you'll have to get use to it." Hikari said as she turned away from him.

"I thought we were friends." he said.

"You're right...we were supposed to be best friends forever...but that changed." Hikari said not looking at him so he couldn't see that she was crying.

Junpei was at a loss for words as she began to walk off. He walked up behind her, grabbed her wrist and spun her around so that she was facing him. His eyes widened as he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. She snatched her arm away from him and backed away. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but hurt.

"Hikari..." he begun to say until she ran off into the building. Leaving him standing there like he did her two years ago.

I hope you guys are likeing it so far. Poor Junpei, I feel sorry for him. BUt what goes around comes around.


	5. Chapter 5: Guilt

**Chapter Five: Guilt**

At the dorm

Junpei is laying in bed twisting and turning in his sleep.

Dream

It's the last day he spoke to Hikari. He was somewhere floating in the air and could see himself and Tari hugging as Hikari walks out of the café.

She ran out the store and tapped Junpei from behind. He looked back at her with no emotion and said, "What?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT? YOU'RE HUGGING TARI WHILE YOU'RE GOING OUT WITH ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Not anymore..."

"Wha- what?"

"You heard me we're not going out anymore."

"Wh- Why?"

"Go ask you're other- I mean only boyfriend over there."

"But..."

"BUT NOTHING, I SAW YOU KISSING HIM!"

"Junpei I..."

"YOU WHAT! YOU'RE SORRY!? WELL SO AM I! I'M SORRY THAT I EVER WENT OUT WITH YOU!"

"You can't be serious..."

"Well I am..."

"But Junpei, I love you!"

"Then why were you kissing Michiro!"

"He ki-"

"Shut up!"

"But Junpei..."

"You really get on my nerves you really do!"

"YOU DON'T EVEN LISTEN TO ME AFTER I FORGVE YOU ALL THOSE TIMES!"

"I ONLY MESSED UP ONCE! WHAT ABOUT YOU HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU MESSED UP OR BETRAYED ME!"

"NEVER!"

"YEAH, RIGHT!" She then slapped him.

"Why are you doing this?!"

"WELL, WHY DID YOU KISS HIM?"

"HE FREAKING KISSED ME!!"

"THEN HOW COME IT LASTED SO LONG?!"

"Because..."

"Because you wanted him to kiss you!"

"No I didn't."

"Whatever."

"Junpei..."

"Get away from me."

"No! I love you!"

"Well, I hate you..."

At the expression on her face from the words that came out his mouth, he felt his heart sink to the bottom of his chest.

"Me and Tari are going out now."

Tears poured down Hikari's cheeks. Junpei watched as they left Hikari standing in the same spot crying, not even wiping the tears from her face. Then Michiro came out and put his hand on her shoulder saying, "It will be okay."

"It's all you fault..." Hikari said.

"What?"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!! AND NOW JUNPEI HATES ME! GET OUT OF MY LIFE ...FOREVER!" she screamed.

Junpei looked over at himself holding onto Tari and began shouting.

"YOU IDIOT!! GO BACK AND APOLGIZE TO HER! DAMMIT!!"

He looks back over at Hikari.

"I DON'T HATE YOU!! I NEVER HATED YOU HIKARI!!...Hikari..."

He had a saddened look on his face as he watched her walk all the way back home, crying.

End of Dream

Junpei woke up in a cold sweat. He wiped off his face as he sat up in bed and looked over at his clock. It was 5o'clock. He had two more hours before school, but he couldn't go back to sleep though. All he could think about was the expression on Hikari's face when he left her standing there that day, crying.

"No wonder she wouldn't talk to me...I wouldn't talk to me either if I did that...to...me?" he said and went to the bathroom.


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

**Chapter Six: Confrontation**

Today Hikari would be moving into the dorms. She has to stay in Shinji's old room since it's the only one open. Junpei had a goal today. He was gonna beg Hikari to forgive him, even if it took until lunchtime. He walked up to the school with Fuuka so he had a witness. As they walked he explain the situation between him and Hikari.

"So, that's why she was treating you like that...That was an awful thing to do, Junpei." she said.

"I know...I guess I was so mad and upset that I wasn't thinking ...like I do half of the time...You think she'll forgive me?"

"If you two were as close as you said you were, I'm sure of it."

They walk up to the front gate to find Akihiko talking to Hikari. There were a lot a hand gestures from Akihiko and nodding from Hikari. Then she smiled and laughed.

"Wonder what they're talking about..." Junpei said to Fuuka.

"Most likely it's about her moving in today. She must be excited."

Hikari bows to him and walks into the building as Akihiko turns and walks to Junpei and Fuuka.

"I just finished talking to Hikari. Everything's fine with her mother. She'll be moved in today." Akihiko told them.

"That's great news...Oh, I forgot to tell you all something the day she came to the dorm...she-" Fuuka begun, but was interrupted by the bell. "I'll tell you later. We don't wanna be late...Oh, good luck Junpei-kun."

After school

Hikari was at kendo practice. She was practicing with Kaz. Kaz was having a hard time with her today, she seemed angry.

"Hey, claim down!" Kaz shouted at her.

Hikari swung one last time and knocked his stick out his hand sending it swirling though the air into the wall.

"...I'm...sorry...I...-" Hikari began.

"It's alright...just make sure you keep that energy for the competition." Kaz joked.

"Right..." Hikari smiled weakly as she said her goodbyes to everyone and leaves.

She walks out the school and sees Junpei standing at the gates. She stops walking after they make eye contact with each other.

"Hikari..." Junpei began.

"What do you want?"

"Akihiko-senpai told me to walk you to the dorm."

"I'll be okay walking by myself...that's how it's always been. I don't need your help."

"Hikari just hear me out!" Junpei yelled.

"FOR WHAT!? THERE'S NOTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME JUNPEI!" Hikari yelled back. "I've heard it all before...and all of it was a lie..."

"That's not true...I didn't mean for things to happen the way they did...I was hurting when I saw you...and Michiro...I didn't know how to react." Junpei explained.

"But I see you stayed with Tari...So what happened to that?" Hikari asked.

Junpei didn't say anything.

"Can you ever forgive me?"Junpei asked not answering her question.

Hikari stood there for while as Junpei stood there staring at her.

"I don't know...How do I know it won't happen again?" Hikari asked.

"It won't, I promise."

Hikari looked like she was about to give in and smile at him, but it soon turn into a frown.

"No! I won't fall for that again...You think just by saying you're sorry that all my pain...all my hurt... will just go away like nothing happened!?

"I know it won't but-"

"But nothing! I trusted you with my heart and you crushed it!" she said as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I loved you more than anything! I cared about you more than anyone! And you do that to me!"

She walks down the pathway and passes him. She turns around to face him with her eyes puffy and red.

"I was the one who was there when you hurt...but were you when I was hurting, Junpei!?"

"I-"

"Just forget it! And to think that for a slight moment I was gonna forgive you...I must be stupid to let you get that close to my heart again..."

She turns away and leaves him standing there.

After stopping by her house to get her dog, Hiro, her told her a group of movers had already gotten her things. She kissed her mother goodbye and headed towards the dorm. When she arrived, Yukari welcomed her and showed to her room.

"Sorry, it's on the boys hall...It was the only room left." said Yukari.

"It's fine."

Hiro and Koromaru ran down the hallway and started jumping on each other, barking happily.

"Well, Hiro's not complaining." Hikari said as she watched them play.

"Just let someone know if you need anything."

"I will."

Hikari went into her room and started unpacking her things.


	7. Chapter 7: The Reason

**Chapter Seven: The Reason**

As Hikari went though her things, she ran across an old picture of her, Junpei, Maiko and Daisuke in the 7th grade. She smiled at it as she put it on her night stand. After a few hours she was finished, so she took a shower. She put on a jersey and some night shorts. She had her door cracked open a little and she lay on her back on her bed. Junpei was in the hallway outside his room. He was about to knock on her door when Hiro and Koromaru ran pass him and entered her room.

"Hey guys." she said as she sat up and moved to the edge of her bed."What's up?"

Koromaru and Hiro stared at her wagging their tails happily.

"I'm happy you two are getting alone...better than me and Junpei are." she looks over at Hiro who barks."You remember, Junpei...right boy?" Hiro barks again and Hikari rubs his head. "That's good. He is kind of hard to forget...although I wish I could."

Koromaru sits down and whimpers with his ears flapped down.

"It's not like that, Koro...Some stuff happened that's all." she said sadly. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing."

Hiro walks up and lays his head on her knee.

"Sometimes it feels like you can really understand me." she said smiling."You two should be resting, you've been playing all day since I got here...I shouldn't bore you with my stupid problems." she lets out a sigh.

The two dogs run out the room and down the stairs. A few moments later, her cell phone rung and she answers it.

"Hello...Oh, hi mom!...Wait...what wrongs? Why are you crying? she asked. "I'm on my way!

She put some jeans over her shorts, put on some socks and shoes and ran out her room, bumping into Junpei, knocking them both down.

"Oww..." Hikari moaned as she held her nose.

"Are you okay?" Junpei asked as he got up and stretched out his hand to help her up.

"I'm fine." she said pushing his hand away and standing up.

She walked towards the stairs and stopped. She let out a sigh and turned towards him. She looked as if she was about to say something, but quickly turned her head and headed down the stairs. She ran though the lounge and out the front door not knowing Junpei was right behind her.

"Where are they going so late at night?" Ken asked.

"Don't know, but we shouldn't worry too much about them." Fuuka said.

"Why's that?" Akihiko asked

"That's right, I forgot to tell you...That night we found Hikari, I sensed on unusual power. I thought it was the shadow at first, but after a closer analyze, I realize that the it was coming from her." Fuuka told them.

"Power...What kind of power? Is it something to worry about?" Mitsuru asked.

"I don't know. She has it well kept under control now compared to that night. It was flowing out everywhere, which is what attracted that shadow in the first place."

"Attracting shadows?" Yukari stated. "Is it okay to keep her here?"

"Better yet, is it okay for her to be out there when it's almost mid-night?" said Akihiko.

"I don't know. I don't have enough information yet. It's different from anything I've encountered thus far...And I don't sense her having a Persona either." said Fuuka.

"But she had to have one if she fought that shadow." Ken told her.

"Wait...what was that thing she had in her hand that night." said Yukari. "It looked like some kind of staff. Maybe that's how she defeated it."

"Like I said, I don't have enough information to determine anything yet...but..." Fuuka started.

"But what?" said Akihiko.

"I did sense something whenever Hikari and Junpei -kun are close to each other. I sensed it today at school too."

"There is something going on between those two. Did you see the way she glared at him when we first met?"

"Yes. And that's not all...Apparently, they've known each other since pre-school and were very good friends."

"Really? I wonder why he never mentioned her...Did he tell you?" asked Yukari.

"...No, he didn't."

"We should ask them. It may lead to some answers." said Mitsuru.

"No, you can't!" said Fuuka standing up. "Don't pressure them to talk...it's already enough tension between them. We may make things worse for them."

"You make it sound like they like each other." Yukari said as she laughed.

Everyone looked at the reaction on Fuuka's face as she sat down.

"Whoa...really? Then they're just fighting then?" asked Akihiko.

Fuuka sighed. "Junpei told me this morning what happened between them two years ago and that he's trying to apologize for it, but Hikari is just too upset to listen to what he has to say."

"Well, that explains way Junpei's been acting so strange." stated Akihiko. "But that still doesn't explain why she was so willing to join."

"It's because she wants to be close to Iori." said Mitsuru.

"But as mad as she is, wouldn't she want to be as far away from him as possible?" asked Akihiko.

Mitsuru smiles. "No. Because she still has feelings for him. But, she's fighting with that hurt of whatever he did to her. Do you understand?"

"Tch...When it comes to women, I'll never understand."

"You said it." agreed Ken.

Scene switches to Hikari running down the side walk with Junpei close behind her. She makes it to her house and bangs on the door.

"MOM! MOM!!" she screamed as she tried to open it."Dammit...I forgot I didn't have a key." she said as she went though her pockets.

There a sound of something smashing to the floor and she heard her mom scream. Hikari stepped back and kicked the door in. She and Junpei walked in to see the house a complete mess. There was a man standing over her mom, who was laying on the ground, with his hand raised. He looked over towards the doorway and saw Hikari coming at him. Junpei ran in to help her mom up.

"Mrs. Haruno! Are you ok?" Junpei asked her helping her to her feet.

"Junpei..." she said smiling."It's so good to see you. Yes, I'm-Uh!" she said as she began to fall, but Junpei supported her.

"You bastard!" Hikari yelled as she tackled the man into a wall. "What the hell were you thinking?

She punches him in the face causing the back of his head to hit the wall behind him. "You son of a-" she began then realized where she was. She slams him into the wall one last time before rushing over to her mom and embraces her in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine sweet heart...but...when did you become so violent?"

"I-" she started to say, and then turned around to see the man running towards them. She didn't have time to react and he grabbed her hair.

Hikari screams.

"Let her go!" her mom shouted as she struggled to get up.

"No, don't..." Junpei told her as he sat her back down and walked up to the man. "You better let her go..."

"Or what? I hope you don't think you can-"

He didn't have time to finish before Junpei punched him in the face. He let go of Hikari's hair and she fall forward but, Junpei caught her. It reminded her of the night he spent at her house as she looked up at him. He was thinking of the same thing. Hikari's face turned red and she pulled away from him.

"I didn't need your-" she stopped herself. "Thanks...Junpei."

"Sure..."

"Mom, what happened?" Hikari asked her as she looked around the house.

"I met him a couple of weeks ago and I invited him over for dinner tonight. Then things got out of hand."

"You shouldn't bring strange men in here while you're by yourself...I'm bringing Hiro back here first thing in the morning."

"I don't need-"

"I can't afford to lose you mom...you're all I have left..."

Her mom was silent. Hikari called the police and they arrest the man as the others question her mom.


	8. Chapter 8: Confessions

**Chapter Eight: Confessions**

Hikari and Junpei clean up the house as her mom is being questioned. It mostly quite between them until Junpei breaks the silence.

"So...how are Maiko and Daisuke doing?"

"They're ok. They got together and...Maiko got pregnant."

"Are you serious? When did that happen?"

"About a year ago."

"...She's so young...she's still a kid herself."

"Yeah, she was gonna be a good mother to her son. Daisuke was so happy."

"Was? What happened?"

Hikari stared at him in disbelief. "Maiko was killed, Junpei...in a car crash as Daisuke drove her to the hospital to deliver the baby. How didn't you know that? You're his best friend, I know you got at least one of his messages."

Junpei was in total shock. He dropped what he was holding and he sat down. "But...I never got a call from him. I would've answered it."

"He said you stopped taking his calls when you went back with Tari...In fact, that's what everyone said. You didn't answer any ones calls..."

"I never got any..."

"You're phones just like mine...Check your call history."

Junpei pulled out his phone and they went through it. It said "No Calls"

"See."

"Hold on." she said as she took her phone out and dialed his number.

His phone didn't ring at all.

"Did you block me?" she asked.

"No, I don't even know how."

Hikari takes his phone and goes to the main menu, then settings and selects blocked calls. There was a long list with her name, Maiko, Daisuke and other names. She shows it to him.

"You don't know how, huh?"

"I-I didn't do that."

"Then who-" Hikari thought for a minute."Did you let, Tari...see your phone?"

"Well, yeah...I mean we were togeth-" he stopped talking after seeing the expression on Hikari's face. It wasn't angry; it was more like a hurt expression.

"It all makes sense now...I knew it was a possibility, but..." she said as she stood up."Tari was behind it all...everything that happened...it was her."

"I'm not following."

"That day at the cafe. How did you find out?"

"Umm...she showed me a picture on her phone."

"A picture...What was I wearing? Do you remember?"

"Yeah, you were wearing your school uniform."

"That's interesting...since the day she brought you to me was a Sunday"

"Yeah, it was! But you still kissed him..."

"He kissed me! I would never think about another guy because I was so wrapped up in you, idiot!" she screamed. "YOU WERE ALL I THOUGHT ABOUT SINCE THAT DAY YOU BROKE UP WITH ME! I COULDN'T GET YOU OUTTA MY MIND! AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TA-" she turned around to see everyone staring at her. She felt so embarrassed. "Forget I said anything."


	9. Chapter 9: True Potential

Chapter Nine: True Potential

"I'm sorry, Junpei..."

"What?"

Hikari stopped walking and faced him. "I said I was sorry...for how I treated you these past few days." She lowers her head. "I thought that if I was mean to you, I'd feel better...but it just made me feel worse because I was hurting you and I'm so sorry, Junpei." She moves closer to him."I just want to forget..."

Junpei pulls her towards him and embraces her in a hug.

"I'm...sorry too, Hikari..."

Back at the dorm

"I sense something!" Fuuka shouted as she got to her feet.

"What is it Fuuka?" Mitsuru asked.

"...It's...Hikari! It's the same energy I've been detecting."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive...And I'm picking up a large bio-mass coming towards her!"

"This is not good! We have to help them!"

Everyone nods in agreeance and heads out the door.

Hikari and Junpei are now walking down the side walk laughing together for the first time in years.

"So how's Kendo?" Junpei asks her.

"Fine. The nationals are coming up pretty soon, so Kaz and I are training harder than ever. If we're picked to be on the same team, no one will be able to stop us!" she said getting excited over the matter.

"I'm glad you're not swinging that bat anymore." Junpei said joking.

"Yeah, this time I'm putting that talent to good use...Hey...So what did happen between you and Tari?"

"It's a long story...I'll tell you later."

"Oh...ok..." she said and suddenly stopped walking.

"What's up?" Junpei asked as he also stopped walking and turned towards her.

Hikari had an uneasy feeling. Like the same one she had the night she met up with everyone. She looked around, trying to find where it was. She knew something was there, but see couldn't see it.

"Is someth-." Junpei began to say, but was interrupted by a loud piercing scream. It sounded like more than one person, but neither of them was sure if it even was a human.

"What was that?" she asked Junpei.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." he answered back.

They hear it again but it was louder this time and it seemed closer to them. Farther down the street, the others were running towards them as fast as they could with their Evokers in hand.

"We aren't going to make it! They're too far away and that mass is right on top of them!" Fuuka shouted.

Scene switches to Junpei reaching for his Evoker.

"What are you doing...?" Hikari asked him, terrorized.

"Pre-paring for the worst." he said as held the Evoker to the side of him.

Suddenly, everything went quite...then something smashed though the building in front of them. They shield their eyes and face from the flying objects. After a few moments they move their arms to reveal a cloud of dust. Once it sub-side's, they don't see anything, then out of nowhere, Hikari and Junpei went flying forward and land on the ground. They hurry to their feet to see where the force came from, but saw nothing. Then Hikari saw something moving towards them though the darkness.

"I can see it! And it's huge!" she shouted.

"Where?!"

"It's right in front of you..." she began."...don't you...see it too?"

Junpei backed back as he shakes his head, nervously.

"What do you mean no!?" she shouted. "Stop kidding around!

"You think I'd kid around with my life!?" he shouted back.

"You really can't...but then how come I can?" she asked herself.

"You can talk to yourself later! How about getting us outta here!

She grabbed Junpei by the wrist and ran as the shadow gave chase, knocking down anything in its way.

"Wait! If people see all this, they'll know something's up! We have to destroy it here!"

"How!? I can't fight that thing-"

"But I can...and you can see it! You'll have to be my eyes!"

"I can't! What if I mess up!?"

"Then we're both dead!"

Hikari stared at him.

"HIKARI!"

"Okay!...It's...Look out!" she shouted as a giant fist came down over them.

She pushed Junpei out of the way and it missed her, but just barely causing her to fly backwards into the street on her back. The sudden impact causes Junpei to drop his Evoker and it spun into the street near Hikari. She tried to get to her feet and look around for Junpei, but all she saw was the shadow turning from her direction to Junpei's and moving closer to him. Pain pulsed though her body as she tried to get up. She finally was able to sit up and saw Junpei with his back against a wall looking around franticly. She finally is able to sit up and her hand brushes against his Evoker. She doubted she could toss it to him in time. She picks it up and makes it to her feet. Junpei she's her standing up as she points his Evoker to her head.

"I have to try...For his shake..." she said to herself. "Per...so...na..."

"What are you doing!?" he shouted at her. "Fuuka said you don't have a-"

He was interrupted by a loud gun shot. Junpei looked at Hikari and saw what looked like a large white tiger in front of her. It roared and it felt like the entire city was shaking.

Farther down the street the roar echoed. Fuuka and the others stop running as she did.

"I scene... a Persona..." she told them.

"Hikari?" Ken asked.

"No, it can't be...she doesn't have one."

"Then maybe it's Junpei. Maybe he had his Evoker with him." said Yukari. "Can you tell?"

"No." Fuuka said as she fell to her knees. "I can't...Is this the extent of my ability?"

"We can worry about that later. We have to get to them; they could be in real danger!"

To Hikari and Junpei

The shadow was now facing Byakko, Hikari's Persona, ready for a fight. Junpei hurried over to Hikari to get out of the way of the soon to be fight.

"You really did have the potential. But why didn't Fuuka pick anything up?" Junpei said to himself.

He stood quietly behind her, not wanting to break her concentration. Her eyes weren't that aqua green color he was use to, but instead they were an ice blue, like her personas.

"What the hell?" Junpei said quietly noticing the change of color in her eyes.

Suddenly, Byakko leapt forward with such speed that the wind pushed her back into him. She fell to her knees holding her head and screaming as the shadow and Byakko fought. Junpei didn't know what to do. All he could do was watch as the fight went on. On impulse, he grabbed her around the waist and tried to pick her up, but she wouldn't move. She stayed in the same spot streaming as tears rolled down her face.


	10. Chapter 10: Persona

**Junpei: This is Junpei Iori, letting you know that SNOWBEAST DOES NOT OWN PERSONA 3...But, gets owned by me! HAHAHAHAHA!**

**(Large dark figure appears behind him)**

**SnowBeast: (demonicly) YOU MIND REPEATING THAT LAST PART!?**

**Junpei: (nervous laugh) No, not really...HEY!**

**(Junpei gets thrown into a room as SnowBeast locks the door while laughing demonicly)**

**Hikari: (sighs) Enjoy the story you guys.**

**Junpei: (screaming) SOMEONE GET THIS PHYSCO AWAY FROM ME!!**

**SnowBeast: Shut-up! And take it like a man!**

**

* * *

****Chapter Ten: Persona**

Finally, Hikari managed to get to her feet. She had stopped screaming but, every time Byakko got hit or landed one, she would let out a small grunt. Junpei thought she would never stop screaming and it was breaking his heart to see her in so much pain and not to be able to do anything about it.

"Junpei...why does it hurt so much...?"she said weakly.

"Hikari..." he said quietly as he watched her the pain.

With one last agonizing scream from Hikari, the battle was over. Both persona and shadow disappeared. Hikari was exhausted and barely had enough energy to move, let alone stand. She attempted to move towards Junpei but instead fell forward into his arms.

"HEY!! JUNPEI!"

Junpei turned around to see Fuuka and everyone else running towards them.

"I'm so glad you're-"she began but stopped when she noticed Hikari in his arms. "What happened?"

"She...she summoned a persona..." Junpei told her.

"So...she did have one all this time...and I didn't pick it up. This is my only power and yet..."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure there's a reason why you couldn't sense it." Akihiko assured her.

"Let's get her back to the dorm. She needs to rest." stated Mitsuru.

Two days went by and Hikari was still asleep. Junpei nor Hiro left her bedside, which caused Junpei to miss two days of school, which he didn't really care about anyway. Just as Junpei was about to leave to get something from the drink machine, Hikari started to sit up.

"Hikari!" he shouted as he rushed to sit back down in his chair. "How are you feeling?"

"J-Junpei..." she groaned as she slowly looked over at him. "What's going on? Why are you in here?"

"Thank God, I thought you'd never wake up!"

Hikari looked at him confused. She tried to lift her arm but a wave of pain went though her body. She looked down to see it wrapped up in bandages.

"What happened to my arm?" she asked him.

"It's from when you fell that day...when you fought that shadow."

"That's right...Are you okay?" she asked looking at him.

"Yeah, thanks to you."

Hikari turned her head and blushed. "We would've been done for if you hadn't had your Evoker with you...So really, you saved both of us."

"Well, I-" he started but was interrupted when Yukari and Fuuka came into the room.

"Good, you're awake." said Yukari.

"How are you feeling?" Fuuka asked her.

"I'm fine. My arms still a little sore, but I'm okay."

"I'm glad to hear that. Junpei-kun has been worried sick about you ever since he brought back to the dorm."

"Really...?"

She turns and looks at Junpei who turns his head away from her.

"Yeah, he never left your side for one second. We had to bring his food up here and he wouldn't go to the bathroom unless someone was around to look after you." Yukari told her.

Junpei's face was red. He stood up and walked to the door.

"Junpei..." Hikari called after him.

He stopped walking but didn't face her.

"Thank-you...for taking care of me." Hikari said smiling

"Yeah...you're welcome." he said and quickly hurried out the room.

"Maybe he had to go to the bathroom." Fuuka said.

"Maybe...but, I don't think so..." Hikari said to herself.

Later that night in the command room

"I'm sorry I can't tell you sooner what your persona was capable of...It's all my fault you got hurt." Fuuka told Hikari with a sincere tone.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have rushed in their the way I did anyways." Hikari told her smiling.

"I'll do what I can to give you more information about your Persona."

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that." she said looking towards the door way. "Junpei..."

**Sorry to end it that way, beleive me it wasn't my fault. I had a bad case of writters block! T-T But don't worry, The next chapter will be worth the wait.**

**PLEASE R&R!! Or I'll be sad...T-T**


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